The final season : the perseverance of Pat Summitt
Cornelius, Maria M. Tennessee, 2016
311p index afp, 9781621902720 $29.95, 9781621902744
In The Final Season: The Perseverance of Pat Summitt, Cornelius superbly focuses on the many aspects of Summitt’s last season as the head basketball coach of the University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers. This book covers the announcement of Pat’s early-onset dementia diagnosis in August 2011 to her stepping down as head coach in April 2012 and relinquishing the program to Holly Warlick, her assistant coach of 27 years. Many of the chapters cover an event and/or a person over the course of the 2011–12 basketball season. Highlights include chapters on individual players, the Southeastern Conference (SEC) season and tournament, the NCAA tournament, and Pat’s incredible legacy. The book is full of raw emotion, reactions, and observations from those closest to Pat. Throughout the book, the black-and-white images give the reader a peek into the great coach’s world on the court. Cornelius’s work provides an in-depth view of the special relationships Coach Summitt had with her players, other coaches, staff, the media, and the entire Tennessee sports nation. This is a must-read for any true college basketball fan.
Summing Up: Essential. Lower-division undergraduates and above; general readers.
Reviewer: S. J. Bryant, Michigan State University
Interdisciplinary Subjects: Women's & Gender Studies
Subject: Science & Technology - Sports & Recreation
Choice Issue: May 2017
